Awake and Sing!, Clifford Odets's Depression-era drama of frustrated hopes, begins its first weekend of performances at the Loeb tonight at 8. The play itself can be pretty heavy going at times, but the Summer School Repertory Theater reportedly does fairly well with some difficult material. Liz Samuels's review of the production appears on page two. Whatever she says about it, she's right. Two shows tomorrow at 5 and 9. Weekend seats cost $5.95.
Moon Children, by Michael Weller, continues its run at the Charles Playhouse. This is really fine: funny, sad, and as accurate a portrayal of student life as you're likely to see on the stage. The play is about the people Weller shared a house with during his senior year at Brandeis. If you already know what student life is like, but don't object to good comedies, you'll enjoy it anyway. The Playhouse is located at 76 Warrenton St. in Boston. Friday shows at 7 and 10:30, Saturday at 6:30 and 10, Sunday at 7:30. Student tickets cost $3 at Friday's late performance.
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, but how would he be doing if he had to live in Cambridge during the summer? Anyhow, this is purportedly Boston's longest-running musical (Skiddy von Stade runs a close second), and a pleasant enough way to spend an evening. It's mostly a bunch of Brel ballads strung together, but while you're there you can also eat and make moo-moo eyes at your date. Being kept alive at the Cabaret in the Charles Playhouse. Tickets on Fridays and Saturdays cost $5-$6.50. No wonder he's doing so well.
Kenyon Martin and the National Mime Theater do a mostly enjoyable show over at Lesley College's Welch Auditorium every Friday and Saturday evening at 8. The first part of the show is called "Beyond Words" and it's made up of nine traditional mime routines. Martin, the grand master of the art form in America, is the featured performer during this first act. He's just a joy to behold. The second part, "Unnatural Acts," is an original theater piece that dispenses with mime tradition--a lot of the humor is verbal rather than physical--and is uneven in execution. "Unnatural Acts" has its moments though; an impression of cute little Shirley Temple singing a cute little "On the Good Ship Lollipop" is supposed to by hysterical--almost as funny as Ms. Temple's politics. The performance costs $3.
Death of a Salesman is getting its zillionth production over at Tufts Arena Theater. The Arthur Miller is as American as apple pie, and undeniably a great play. It's very emotionally and theatrically demanding, though, and it's hard to think of this production doing poor Willy Loman justice. If you've never seen Lee J. Cobb and Mildred Dunnock do the play on stage or on television, you might be satisfied with the treatement it gets up in Medford. You can find out for $3.50 at 8:15 tonight and tomorrow.
The Summer School Dance Center finishes up its first series of performances this weekend at Agassiz Theater in Radcliffe Yard. The Center is presenting new works by Reuben James Edinger, Mel Wong and Beth Soll. Tickets cost $3 if you get them in advance, $3.50 at the door.
Blot on Justice, an ironic tragi-comedy for which Richard Nixon recreates his role as the biggest fool who ever ran a country, is continuing its unpopular run at the White House. Dick has added some new lines to the show, some that'll stop you dead in your tracks. In one scene Nixon calls the conviction of John Ehrlichman "a blot on justice." That's sort of like Adolf Hitler calling Eichmann's conviction "a crime against human decency." Just another example of Dick's fantastic sense of humor ("peace with honor" is still his funniest line, though). This show has been five and a half years too long; hopefully the management will close it down real soon.
